Hey guys so Ive been looking for the right 335i for about 2 weeks now and still nothing . I checked autotraders, cars, a local bmw site, and even craiglist. Am I missing a place I should be looking at or am i just being impatient? How long did it take you guys to find your perfect 335? (looking local so i can test drive and trade my car in).
Edit:Also what's everyone's take on buying a car you didn't test drive or see it in person?

Yep, cars.com and autotrader are good and some of the same cars pop up on eBay. Craigslist is a bit shady...I wouldn't do that unless I can take my CCW. I've been able to find cars out of state and in-state. I have never purchased a car sight unseen. I usually put some money down for the dealer to hold so I can fly in and take a look. Carmax will transfer the car in for a fee. That being said, I travel for business so it might be easier for me to fly in for a look-see. Either way, be certain to get a PPI done by a local Indy. GL

It took me about a month to find the right CPO. Spent way too much work time researching. And I swung and missed a few times too. But there is no shortage of E9X 335i's out there. Remain diligent, aggressive in contacting sellers, and you will find the right car.

Also, be willing to travel as you will greatly expand your options. I ended up buying mine across the state. Bought a one-way airline ticket and bonded with the car on the drive back.

I know its difficult to be patient sometimes, just keep looking you'll find the right one. And for what it's worth...I would never buy a car without a pre-purchase inspection from an indy shop of my choosing.

Patience. I checked many places, went to see one and refused to pull the trigger because the garage looked shady. I finally found a great deal in Knoxville, TN (3 1/2 hour drive) at a great garage that I would recommend to anyone > http://europeanautogarage.com/

I would never purchase a car that I couldnt put my eyes on or test drive, UNLESS it was CarMax. I looked at the 335xi for about a month on autotrader, cars.com, cargurus, aolautos, etc. I finally found a black e90 that was perfect. I got to the dealership and it turned out to be Monaco Blue. Best mistake ever. I loved the color. Good luck on your search!

It only took me a week to find my NOT perfect 335i. Unfortunately I had to be in a hurry to get rid of my old truck that week or it would of cost me a lot on repairs to get an emissions sticker on it so I did not have a lot of time to be patient.

I wish I would of now though...

If you find a good one you will have it a lot longer than you are looking for it. Be patient if at all possible and get exactly what you want. It costs so much more to change it later.

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"And just one question I might ask yah, and it might sound like A disaster, can you make this thing go faster?"

I've been looking for about a month and tomorrow I'm getting a 07 335i with 57k miles to get a pre purchase inspection before I bite the bullet.

In fact, I was about to buy an 08 335i with 38k miles two weeks ago, but instead I wasn't feeling it. The car sold two days later, wasn't meant to be, but shows that there is no shortage of these cars.

I checked auto trader daily for months to find mine. I still didn't get exactly what I wanted (no Nav or zsp.) I drove 6 hours each way to get mine. Keep your eyes open and check daily. It's out there!

Took us a week to find our "perfect in our opinion" 335i. California is the land of BMW though, so it wasn't too bad. If I held out for manual trans, I may still be looking.

If you have a good local dealer, let them know what you are looking for. Our local dealer was even contacting soon to be lease returners for me, however I found our car about 200 miles away. A good dealer will look for you, they should, they will rape you when they make the deal. Its easy for them to look at their leased vehicles, and project when they will be coming up. Made sense to me, and the leasers didn't mind the contact.

I found my perfect E90 in less than an hour on Autotrader, but it was on the wrong coast of the country. I had to change my search to local and took around a month to find my E90, which I think was pretty fast to be honest.

Took us a week to find our "perfect in our opinion" 335i. California is the land of BMW though, so it wasn't too bad. If I held out for manual trans, I may still be looking.

If you have a good local dealer, let them know what you are looking for. Our local dealer was even contacting soon to be lease returners for me, however I found our car about 200 miles away. A good dealer will look for you, they should, they will rape you when they make the deal. Its easy for them to look at their leased vehicles, and project when they will be coming up. Made sense to me, and the leasers didn't mind the contact.

GOod luck,

+1 mt are much harder to find, if you want a manual, you'll have to be even more patient...

If you're specific in the color combo and options you want, then be you have to be very patient and expand your search and really consider what are must-have options and what you can live without given everything else.

It took me 3+ months to find mine. Only thing it was missing that I wanted was PDC, but that was a small sacrifice.

Took me about 6 months to find mine and I had to drive 4 hours to Cleveland to get the one I did find. All local cars either were the wrong color, or had the wrong options, or too many miles, etc. etc. I believe I could have searched a little longer to get the exact car I wanted, ie different interior color and bsm vs jb but other than that the low miles, good price and cpo sealed the deal.

Also I negotiated the deal over the phone and internet. Once I got there I took an extended test drive and negotiated another $500 off the price and drove it home.